 So let's begin looking here at Proverbs. I'll read verses one through five in chapter 20 But I will be spending several minutes looking at the first verse and you'll obviously know why as we look at these verses together Proverbs 20 beginning at verse one wine is a mocker strong drink is a brawler Whoever has led astray by it is not wise The wrath of the king is like the roaring of a lion whoever provokes him to anger Sins against his own life It's honorable for a man to stop striving since any fool can start a quarrel The lazy man will not plow because of winter. He will beg during harvest and have nothing Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out So let's spend some time looking at verse one Wine is a mocker strong drink is a brawler Whoever has led astray by it is Not wise this this subject of drinking is one of those heated subjects One of the most heated really subjects that that Christians argue about the most What's interesting about the argument as Christians are Involved in arguing about this is in the past in my spiritual life in the past If I had a discussion that could have been called an argument about drinking it wouldn't have been with another Christian But today the argument seems to be amongst Christians I've shared I do share it at pastors conferences I over the years have been used by the Lord to teach pastors and we have Conversations related to a variety of things and and I've said it more than one conference Who would have ever thought that this subject would ever be debated amongst Calvary Chapel pastors, but it is There are people who are saying Drinking is fine recreational drinking is good and there are others who say no Not to be done one of my first Facebook live Broadcasts that I I do now was on the subject of recreational drinking and It by far had the most views not just hits but views. I know that we've had over 60,000 people watch that one particular Facebook post Because this is a controversial subject. This is a subject that a lot of people are debating On one hand you have those who are in favor of what we call today recreational drinking But on the other hand you have those who are strongly opposed to the use of alcohol some believe drinking comes under the umbrella of grace and Because they say they were their experiencing the grace of God. They're they're free to drink and they do so but those who do so Will say that those who oppose what they're doing Well anybody who does that they'll say is a legalist And so on the one hand you have someone who says I have the grace of God I can drink whenever I want The Bible doesn't forbid me drinking simply forbids me from being drunk and so if I want to drink a glass of wine I want to have Some beer now who are you to judge me? I Experienced the grace of God and if you say that there's something wrong with what I'm doing While you are simply legalistic And so they drink They say Drinking can be considered useful. It doesn't the scriptures say that it's useful in dealing with sorrow or sometimes with anxiety They'll say the Bible uses wine as a symbol of joy and Of course, Jesus was a bartender because he made wine So they say the Bible forbids drunkenness but does not forbid a glass of wine others will argue that drinking Reflects the values of the unsaved They say to drink is to disregard the dangers of alcohol and to drink without concern for others is to not love others They point out that drinking is a stumbling block and It can encourage and even lead to an unholy lifestyle You know Paul did write concerning drinking it's interesting how he began to broach that subject in Ephesians Because in Ephesians 5 verses 14 through 17, this is what the apostle wrote He said awake you who sleep arise from the dead and Christ will give you light See then that you walk circumspectly not as fools But as wise Redeeming the time because the days are evil therefore do not be unwise But understand what the will of the Lord is and so He said in this passage as he was leading up to a statement Concerning alcohol. He said you need to walk carefully. You need to redeem the time He said do not be unwise He said understand the will of the Lord and Then immediately after writing these words he went on to say and do not be drunk with wine in which is Disappointing but he said be filled with the spirit. You see that in Ephesians 5 18 So all these commands that he just gave hinged on their understanding the times that they're living in They were living in days where the entire atmosphere was in hostile opposition to Christ and Because the days are evil. He said believers are instructed to live lives that honor Jesus Christ And so Paul contrasted the life of one with no self control with the spirit controlled life So in contrast the dissipation Which is a lack of self-control dissipation the believer was to evidence the fruit of the spirit So when some are under the influence, they do evidence a lack of self-control How many of you have ever seen and I know everybody's hands gonna go up So I'll say it just cuz I feel like how many of you have ever seen someone drunk Raise your hands. Come on now. You have it some of you haven't You didn't know me I Was a drunk for years and and my friends were drugs and When somebody is under the influence of alcohol and I'm not saying somebody who who you know had a beer I'm saying somebody under the influence of alcohol They most definitely do not exhibit self-control They don't you know their their speeches slurred their vision is blurred They walk erratically They're not under control. Sometimes they just say what's on their mind Sometimes they get pugnacious even as it says wine is a mocker, but strong drink is a brawler They they they you know a guy who's five foot six a hundred and ten pounds when he's drunk suddenly is six five 250 you know, he just becomes bigger than what he really is he's out of control and so When somebody is under the influence of alcohol that is called dissipation and they will lack self-control In contrast to that the Bible very clearly says believers are to live a life of self-control and the use of alcohol does undermine that as Stated a moment ago. There are Christians who have no problem drinking and they do argue in its favor I refer to them sometimes as alcohol evangelists Because sometimes they even attempt to argue people into their position and yes, I've had that experience with members of this church They want to argue you into their position Sadly those who argue in favor of what they refer to as grace Are very often more concerned with their wants they forget or Intentionally ignore what Paul wrote concerning our liberties that we do have in Christ remember in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 12 Paul said all things are lawful for me But all things are not helpful All things are lawful for me But I will not be brought under the power of any I may have grace, but I don't abuse it I'm not going to be under its under the power of any any anything other than the power of the spirit And so obviously this is one of those issues that people have lots of questions about lots of arguments go on about it today There are those who have liberty to drink and all and so for those who enjoy the liberty to drink These questions might help to consider the pros and the cons of Drinking and let me ask you some questions This will help you to think through the issue. There's some very basic ones. It's nothing, you know Something so radical or Something so new. This is just something to think about. Let me ask you some questions about about drinking Is it costly? Is it something that I should spend my money on? Is it habit for me? If I become addicted How will it affect my life or the life of my family? Can I make poor decisions while under the influence of alcohol? Can my life and those I love be affected by it? Will it offend other Christians? Do I have to defend my drinking to others? Will it harm my christian testimony? Can I share the gospel effectively while drinking? Is it right? Has it improved my testimony? Has it made me more like jesus? Those are questions to think about when you're arguing a position of freedom to drink You know at this time there are over 16 million alcoholics in the united states 76 million americans who do not drink have an immediate family member who is an alcoholic Between 10 and 15 percent of all americans are alcoholics It is the number one drug problem in the united states One website said that americans spend around 57 billion dollars on alcohol yearly In the last 50 years more americans have died due to alcohol Than the deaths of world war one and world war two combined 25 to 40 percent of all hospital beds every day in the united states Have people with alcohol problems 50 percent of all traffic fatalities are related to alcohol 65 a day 20 percent of all freezing deaths are related to alcohol 25 percent of all choking deaths are related to alcohol 50 percent of all falling deaths due to alcohol 52 of those who die in a fire Is related to alcohol 60 percent of all suicides are related to alcohol 64 of all murders are related to alcohol 69 of drownings are related to alcohol 72 of robberies and assaults are related to alcohol 60 of all rapes are related to alcohol 80 of all criminal court cases in the united states are related to alcohol in one way or another up to 50% of teen driving deaths are related to alcohol. And yet in the United States, alcoholism is classified as a disease. That's interesting, because if you really think about it, and I invite you to do so, because I have people in this room who are young enough to have been raised in educational systems that told you that alcoholism is a disease. You can see that on every, it's interesting how this works. But you'll see that alcohol is pushed so much in commercials all the time that you never really ever see that it's actually a habit that occurs through choices that I've made. And it's been classified for many years as a disease, but the question has to be asked if it is simply a disease, then why are there breweries and distilleries? Why are there liquor stores and bars that have to be licensed to sell it? Why do you have to be a certain age to get it? And why do you pay taxes on it? Because if it's a disease, that doesn't make any sense. I'm not licensed, you know, to get a cold. I don't have to be a certain age to get the flu. I don't pay taxes on anything like that. It's been said that if there were labs making and selling hepatitis or meningitis, they would be closed down. 77% of all high school students in the United States claim to have used alcohol or are presently using alcohol. 44% of all 8th graders have used or are presently using alcohol. 6.6 million American children under 8 live in a home with at least one alcoholic parent. In the United States, there are 500,000 children between the ages of 9 and 12 that are already alcohol dependent. 11,000 underage young people try alcohol for the first time every day in the United States. And Solomon would know. Solomon who wrote Proverbs would know the foolishness of alcohol because in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 3 he says that he had searched his heart how to gratify his flesh with wine and he ultimately said it's all simply vanity. And that's what gives to us insight into why he wrote in verse 1 here, wine is a mocker and intoxicating drink arouses brawling. Anybody who was led astray by it he said isn't wise. All through Proverbs up to this point he's been telling us how to be wise. He just told us that you're not wise when you're led astray by something like that. Use of alcohol he says can make you look like a fool and act like one. Wine mocks. The word mocks when he speaks concerning wine being a mocker is literally saying wine makes you look foolish. And he says hard liquor results in fights or can generally does it. In other words when you're really drunk you can get loud and you can get mean. Now the New Testament reveals that we are children of the king. We are a kingdom of priests and kings scripture says. And Proverbs 31 verse 4 says it's not for kings, O Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine nor for princes intoxicating drink. In the New Testament drunkenness is one of the sins that is listed as the lifestyle of an unbeliever. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 10 Paul said that thieves nor the covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. In Galatians 5 he said in verse 21 listing the works of the flesh he said they were envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like of which he says I tell you beforehand and I guess as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. So an individual who is led astray by alcohol is simply not wise. So Pastor David are you saying that I can't have a beer? No I'm not. I'm not saying that. I'm saying do you want to be wise? I'm saying do you want to be free? Do you want to be capable? Or does it matter really when I think about it? Maybe it doesn't matter to some but if it does matter do you want to be capable of at any given moment sharing the gospel of Jesus of God to give you the opportunity to do that? Does that matter to you? If it doesn't then search your heart and ask yourself why? Why doesn't that matter to you? I've told this story too many times there's some who already have heard it and you're going to say I've heard this before some of you haven't heard it so I'll say it. Those who've heard it you can say la la la and hold your ears for a minute. I was an alcoholic. I was an alcoholic for many years. I was not a drinker. That's a polite way of talking. He's a drinker. I wasn't a drinker. I was a drunk. I did not drink because I liked the taste. I drank because I liked the effect. And I drank until I was drunk. I didn't stop drinking until I was drunk. And then when I was drunk I drank more. So that was my lifestyle. I started out at the age of 17 my Friday nights. At 17 my Friday nights started out with a quart of beer and a half gallon of wine. That's how my Friday nights started. So I drank a lot. I drank often. I had people score alcohol for me. I stole alcohol. I was a drunk. And my alcohol of choice was either beer or wine. I started experimenting with the tequilas and the gins and the whiskeys and all of that later. But it was easier for me just to drink the wine and to drink the beer. And so I know what it's like to wake up in a pool of your own vomit. I know what it's like to be arrested for alcohol being drunk in public. That happened to me more than once. I know what it's like to experience those things. And so when the Holy Spirit, when God saved me and was filled with the Spirit, I had a new experience with God and all I'm born again. And for a couple of years, you know, I didn't even have, I didn't drink. I had a beer on a couple of occasions after first getting saved. And then I had a friend. I had a friend who was raised in the church and it wasn't a Calvary ministry. He was raised in a denominational church and he had never been one to drink. And for you know what he's saying, you know, we ought to have a beer. And I'm thinking, you know, I was in my early 20s at that time. I can legally do this. I'm not going to get drunk. And I started wrestling with my grace and liberties and all. And so on occasion, not often, but I had had a beer with him once or twice. And I didn't feel good about it, but I did drink it. But then one day he and I were at a pizza parlor in Huntington Beach, right off of Beach Boulevard. And I was seated in this pizza parlor and my friend says to me, you know what? I've heard, you know, it goes good with pizza. He says his beer. He says, I'm going to get a picture. And he got a picture of beer between him and me. And glasses were poured. The beer was in front of me. An older man at that time. I saw him as an old man. He was probably my age now. He was an old man. He came walking in and he sat, he was, he was, we were in our table. He was in the next table is one of those banquet kind of tables. So he's right in front of me. He's closer than the front row here, closer than that. And I had the beer in front of me. I was looking right at him. And I picked it up and I took a drink, one drink. I put it down and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, go share my love with that man. I remember it as a conversation. I heard his voice speak to my heart. I said, I can't. And I'll never forget. This is a true story, believe it or not true story. I said, I can't. And the voice of the Lord, I know it was the voice of the Lord, spoke to my heart and said, why can't you? And I said, because he saw me drinking beer, and he will think I'm a hypocrite to go and tell him about your love. Drinking, you need to understand, at that time was not a real acceptable thing. It really wasn't then. All the more so. I knew he wouldn't listen to me. And as God is my witness, two young men walked into that pizza parlor. This older man was by himself. I still remember like it was yesterday, one sat on one side of him, the other sat on the other. And one pulled out a Bible, opened up the Bible and started explaining the gospel to this man. I saw him is right there, not eight feet from me. And the Spirit of the Lord spoke to my heart in a way I've never forgotten and said, if I cannot use you, I will use someone else. I have never forgotten that. You can argue with me if you'd like. You can tell me how free you are to drink. I'm not going to condemn you. But I will ask you, how effective are you in your ministry? How effective are you in the things of the Lord? And what really matters to you, your freedoms or somebody's salvation? For me, the question was easy. I don't need beer. I don't need wine. I've got the Spirit of God. And that's what matters. That really is what matters. Because the fact is, many of you grew up in homes where alcohol was abused. My mother was not a drinker. I would never want her memory to be tarnished by an unkind thing spoken by her own son. But I will tell you, my mom took medications because she was an epileptic and had a variety of diseases. And at a certain point in her life when I was less than 10, probably 8, my mom on occasion would drink. And when she'd drink a beer, even just one beer, mixing with the medications, set her off. And from that mama who was loving to me, my mom got hateful. And my mom got angry. And my mom would yell loudly. And my brother and I would be in our beds hearing my mom screaming. And we would literally shake. I was in a home that's... And I saw what that did. But you know, sad thing is it didn't affect me to not drink because I thought, well, I won't be like my mom. But that isn't true. Because when I began to drink, there was a fear and frustration that had been in my heart found a way of being released. And I found myself using it as an excuse to cry or to use it as an excuse to be angry or to give my opinion or to do whatever I didn't feel comfortable doing when I wasn't drinking. And so I abused alcohol. And I saw how my behavior changed because of it. You drank one beer. I was the person who drank all the beers. And if you got up and walked away and left yours, yours was mine too. I was that guy. And some of you knew guys like me. You get up and leave it unguarded? Yeah. Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers. And I would drink yours. And then I still remember when I was saying, hey, wait, where's my wangle? You may say, how and no. So do you want to be used by the Lord if you do? Don't get yourself involved in something that wastes your money and wastes your life. And you may say, and I'll close with one more thing about this, you may say it's no big deal. I know of a minister whose father was a man who never drank. He never drank. His man went to a party, a dinner party, and this minister's father was introduced to alcohol. He had never drank before, was introduced to it. In his case, he liked the taste and he liked the effect. And he began to drink and began to drink habitually. He became an alcoholic. He raged against his family and lost his wife, lost his marriage, broke the heart of his son. And the son was deeply affected by it and the son asked the question. He said something to the effect of... He said, well, you may be saying that it's okay to drink. You don't get drunk. But have you ever asked yourself how your influence affects others? Because the man who offered to drink wasn't an alcoholic. But in giving to my father his first drink, he encouraged him down a path that caused my father to lose everything. His family, his dignity. He said, I wouldn't want to be the one who contributed to somebody's loss the way that man contributed to my father's loss through inviting him to have alcohol. So if you're going to invite anybody invite them to the wine of the Spirit, the new wine. You know, I've never had a Holy Ghost hangover and I've never gotten arrested for driving under the influence of the Spirit. So just be aware of that. Moving on. Verse 2, the wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life. In other words, it's dangerous to get a king angry. Have you killed? In Proverbs 16, verse 14, as messengers of death is the king's wrath, a wise man will appease it. Verse 3, it is honorable for a man to stop striving since any fool can start a quarrel. A dignified person finds ways to avoid angry confrontations. It says in Proverbs 17, 14, the beginning of strife is like releasing water. Therefore, stop contention before a quarrel starts. Verse 4, the lazy man will not plow because of winter. He will beg during harvest and have nothing. The season for planting was cold and wet. So he wouldn't put up with the discomfort of working when the conditions were like that. But the problem is when harvest time comes he's going to look at a field with nothing there. We saw in Proverbs 19, 15 that lazyness cast one into deep sleep, an idle person will suffer hunger. Verse 5, counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. When it says counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, the word counsel is also translated the purposes, the purposes of the heart. And so he's speaking of the purposes of the heart being compared to deep water. That means a person's motives are not easy to discern. So it often takes a wise counselor to help draw the motives out to clarify those things for direction. This speaks really about how a man of understanding could be as a counselor. And there are times when you may have a friend who is sharing with you some things and they're not even aware why they do it, you might even ask them why did you do that? And they'll go, you know, I really don't know. And a wise counselor knows how to ask the questions that helps people to begin to be aware of why they do what they do. There are good counselors who are able to ask the right kinds of questions, maybe because I've had so many conversations that are bothering sometimes. And so they'll be speaking to somebody and they'll say, you did this, can you tell me why? Because the guy says, man, you know, my wife's mad at me or my kids or I'm having problems on the job and so a friend will begin to speak to them and instead of just going along with them, yeah, yeah, they're all against you. Yeah, you're always right. They might ask the questions that are necessary to be asked. You don't feel good about that? Why don't you feel good about that? Well, I just don't. Well, why don't you? I don't know. I never really thought about it. And that's how a wise counselor can begin to ask questions that helps a person become aware of what's going on. And that's what he's basically saying. A man of understanding will draw it out. Counseling the heart of a man is like deep water. It goes deep. But somebody can help and speak to them and through the questions can help them to come to an answer to their problem. Verse 6. Most men will proclaim each his own goodness. But who can find a faithful man? Many people claim to be faithful. In the United States, we know that to be sure. You know, oh, I'm a God for you. I believe in God. Many people proclaim that. Many people say that they're good. They claim to be righteous. Well, I go to church. I go to funerals and I go to weddings. I've been to baptisms and you know, I went there on Easter and I'll go again next year. You know, they will proclaim their own goodness. But there are really very few who actually are because the Bible says there's none good. No, not one. And that's why we need a savior because none of us is good and none of us can really proclaim our own goodness. Verse 7. The righteous man walks in his integrity. His children are blessed after him. Your character very often, not always, not always. So I say very often those of you, those of us who are parents. Your character is often revealed by the behavior of your children because our children have a tendency of learning their way of thinking through their parents. We are the ones who help them to define certain things. One of my kids was at our recent married couples retreat just a couple of weeks ago and they were speaking to me this week and they said that their mate said to them after hearing your father speak and give the study he gave now I understand you better. And my child said obviously not mentioning whether it's a boy or girl. My kid said, yeah I knew that once you heard what my dad was saying you'd understand the way I think. And that to me was a blessing to hear because of the influence a father can have on their child. And very often the character of the child ultimately will reflect the parents influence. So if we live a righteous life it will affect our children and the result is that they can be blessed. The greatest legacy that we give to our children is the one of a genuine faith in God. And when they follow such a path their lives will also be blessed. Verse 8, a king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters all evil with his eyes. That's an interesting phrase. A righteous ruler discerns evil from good and is diligent to see and deal with evil because if he sees something is wrong he deals with it. And that's how it works. Now it's interesting how it says a king who sits on the throne that would speak of a government. So just governments are intended to root out evil in society, not to legalize it. Proverbs 29, 2, when the righteous are in authority people rejoice when a wicked man rules the people grown which is why I'm glad we're going to have an election real soon. Verse 9, who can say I have made my heart clean I'm pure for my sin. No one no one is pure in thought no one is pure in word and no one is pure in activities. We're all sinners and we all need grace even as it says in Psalm 51 verse 5 behold I was brought forth in iniquity in sin my mother conceived me so no one can say I've made my heart clean I am pure for my sin see the way that our heart is cleansed and our sin is cleansed is through the blood of Christ and so no person can proclaim their own goodness no person can say I've made my heart clean because we don't do that we cannot work our way into the kingdom of God there are every religious and as a matter of fact every religion outside of true Christianity teaches that you're saved by your works everyone if you look at every religion you can look at Islam you can look at Judaism you can look at aberrational quote-unquote Christian cults like Mormonism and they Jehovah's Witnesses and others like that and they will say that you're saved by your efforts that you have to do good things well the Bible doesn't teach that at all the Bible says that there's none good no not one and the Bible teaches there's only one who has ever been good that's Jesus Christ and that's why we sinners need a savior because God's standard for entrance into the kingdom of God isn't that we tried our best because my best always falls short of the glory of God God's standard is perfection I don't have perfection therefore I need to receive it it is called imputation when you study your Bible you'll see a theological concept called imputation he imputes to us or gives to us something we don't possess and what he imputes to us is righteousness he has given to us his righteousness because all our righteousness I say I say it as filthy rags and so what God does is he clothes us with robes of righteousness he washes us with the blood of Jesus and he makes us righteous and so we need a savior because no one can say I've made my heart clean I am pure from my sin verse 10, diverse weights and diverse measures they are both alike and abomination to the Lord God hates dishonesty in business we're to have integrity in business verse 11 even a child is known by his deeds whether what he does is pure and right that's so basic isn't it it's true even a child is known by his deeds it's easy for us to say oh I believe in Jesus I love him with all of my heart and and I hope you do I hope we love him of course but if somebody is telling me how much they love the Lord there's going to be a pattern of their life that demonstrates what they're saying is true and I'm not saying and I start with myself I'm not saying that they'll be perfect because of course again none of us is perfect we all need help and two no I don't run around looking at people's lives just to say oh you're not towing the line you're not righteous you're going to hell I don't do that either except for Marie but the bottom line is God's reveal character and a consistency of a life will reveal a genuine faith consistency again all fall short of the glory of God you didn't wake up this morning more than likely you did not wake up this morning saying I'm going to find several ways to blow it today and ruin my testimony you probably didn't maybe you did I don't think you did but on the way to work somebody wasn't going the speed limit or they ran through a stop sign or they waved at you with one finger and it was in a nice moment and something happened and you got angry or something frustrated you whatever it happens does that disqualify us from the kingdom no it simply shows our need for a savior but what if that's my lifestyle every day what if every day I blow it every day and I don't care every day I lose my temper on the weekends or whenever I can I party I sleep around whatever and then I say no I'm a believer in Jesus Christ now even a child is known by his ways even a child can be seen by their conduct so parents can see traits in their children and when they see certain traits they can encourage them because they're great traits or they can redirect them so you watch your child and you see certain things about them and you encourage them to take the right path and so even a child again is known by his deeds verse 12 the hearing ear and the seeing eye the Lord made them both hearing ears when he says the hearing ear that's a reference to hearing and obeying the seeing eye is not just that we have the ability to visually see things it speaks of discernment so an ear that is hearing is an ear that is willing to be taught and the eye is willing to be discerning taking what we are being taught and putting it into practice so God gives us hearing and our vision is more accountable for how we use them verse 13 do not love sleep do you love sleep do not love sleep unless you come to poverty open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread another way of saying diligence produces prosperity but laziness ends up in poverty verse 14 it's good for nothing Christ the buyer but when he's gone his way he boasts people like to haggle and later on they do like to boast about the deal that they made I've seen that many times if you go to Israel there are places that you may go to where haggling arguing over prices are really expected it's just part of what they expected this particular marketplace there are some places we've been where they will haggle with you so they'll say oh for you I'll give you a special deal it's $10 and then you'll say oh okay because Americans will go oh okay and they'll give them $10 and they'll just smile at you but the wise person in certain conditions wise in the sense of understanding what's going on we'll say are you kidding me $10 for that I'll give you I'll give you three and they'll go you're insulting me how can you say that how am I going to feed my children and then you say I don't know I hope you can but I'm not going to give you $10 and then he'll say okay okay okay okay I've seen it I haven't done it I've seen it okay $8 $8 and you're breaking my heart and then you go no no no no I can't give you $8 but it is worth more than $3 I'll give you $5 $5, $5 you might as well leave but don't I'll tell you what let's meet at $7 you in your mind you're already thinking $6 and so you say I'll give you $6 for you only my friend right I have some people who've been with me in Israel you know what I'm saying is true don't you you know what I'm saying is true it's not always true some places will say get out of here but most don't you know it just depends on where you're going and then what do you do you take it to the tour and you say look what I got I only paid $6 for this that's what he's talking about that's what he's saying here it's good for nothing but when he's gone he boasts look what I got for $6 man I should have bought two that's what they do okay that's true verse 15 there is gold and a multitude of rubies but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel it is more rare to find dispensers of knowledge than finding gold precious stones and that's true verse 16 take the garment of one who is surety cosigner surety for a stranger hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress what an interesting phrase taking a garment is one way of holding someone responsible to pay their debt and the point of this is verse 17 bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel sometimes people will will will lie to get what they want it's deceit they're lying to get what they want and for them it's the sweet thing they like it it's tasty they like what they're doing that's the point but he's saying things acquired is on its means never satisfied completely initially they may you may like it a lot but ultimately he says it will result in serious injury when he speaks about the mouth being filled with gravel it's another way of saying the teeth will be broken by the gravel so it's injurious so somebody may like it but the end result of that is never good verse 18 plans are established by council by wise council wage war there's so many applications to this in practical daily living but if you want to be fruitful in your plans it is always wise to get the best advice you can get always wise an individual who doesn't ask other people's opinions and even ask advice of others or makes use of other people's experience is not a wise person if we think that we can make our decisions without the help of other people who are making a big mistake it's always a good idea to ask now I'm not saying to follow what other people do without thinking things through but if you're making plans there may be something somebody else knows that you don't know and so it's just a good idea to ask questions and I'm telling you this is true in a variety of things in a variety of things I have people ask me questions and advice it's funny I don't know why they do I'm no expert in anything but sometimes they'll ask me advice about things that I don't even know I'm no expert on that but they'll ask well what do you think about and I think it's because they're just asking and getting advice just see if it kind of fits in with what they were thinking sometimes I have thought I need to do a certain thing whatever it may be and I have pastor friends who've gone before me who've done things and I'll say I'm thinking about doing this what do you think my own pastor Chuck Smith when he was alive I I learned how to communicate with him because if you walked up to Chuck Smith and you said to him I'll give you an example I did this I walked up to Chuck on one occasion and I said pastor I said I was thinking of doing this and I was thinking of doing it this way and I was actually asking for advice but the way I said it I said yeah I'm planning on doing this so he looks at me I'll never forget he looks at me and he just smiles oh okay that was it so I walk away thinking I guess that's a good idea it wasn't so later on another time I walked up to pastor my pastor and I said to him Chuck I have this opportunity and this is what's in front of me what would you do his whole attitude changed whole attitude changed what would you do and I'll never forget he says oh if it was me that's how I learned to ask advice from my pastor if I walked up and told him I was going to do something he'd say go for it because I was telling him what I was going to do but when I walked up to him and learned to say what would you do that was an entirely different thing now I'm getting advice Chuck didn't like telling me what to do but he would tell me what he would do and when I heard what he would do I would mix that into the bag that I had and then I could have more information to make a decision it's always wise to ask opinions especially from those who've gone before you those who know more those who've been there and that I have to say it's just a good advice I plan to be fruitful get good advice Proverbs 15-22 says without counsel plans go awry but in the multitude of counselors they are established verse 19 he who goes about as a tail bearer reveals secrets therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips be careful with those who talk too much one of the most practical I'll use the word practical pieces of advice my mother gave to me was this she said David I'll never forget that she says be careful because if somebody comes and speaks to you about somebody else always remember that they're talking about you to somebody else that's a fact that was good advice anybody who comes and gossips to you about somebody else is gossiping about you to somebody else so be very careful that you don't open up the treasures of your heart to people who really shouldn't have those treasures even Jesus himself did not disclose himself to all men for he knew what was in men and so be very careful when you run around giving your problems to somebody because you may see your problems on facebook tomorrow verse 20 whoever curses his father or his mother his lamp will be put out in deep darkness when it says curses cursing speaks of disrespecting speaking poorly of and the lamp well the lamp often speaks of life go around cursing and disrespecting speaking poorly of your family you will have a short life verse 21 an inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end you know when it says gained hastily at the beginning it may be like there's an evil child and the evil child basically drives away their parents or makes plans or strives to get the inheritance that is promised to them quickly and he says somebody who does something like that well in the end they're not going to be blessed and as I was reading this I couldn't help but think of the story of the prodigal son because the prodigal son you know the story it's found in the Gospel of Luke the prodigal son went to his father and said to his father give me my portion of my inheritance and though he could do that he was against the mosaic law for a Jewish son to ask the father to give him his inheritance before the father died by asking the father to give him his inheritance before the father died that was a high a very high insult in essence it was saying the prodigal son was saying to his dad I can't wait until you die so give me what is mine now and that's you know and then you know the story the prodigal gets up he goes to a far country wastes everything with prodigal or wasteful living and the bible speaks to us concerning the fact that that the son is there wanting to eat the pods that would be feeding the swine and he's a Jewish boy he's with the unclean pigs in a foreign land and he says to himself you know my father has servants more than I am what should I do well this is what I'll do I'll go home and I'll speak to my father and I'll say father I've sinned against heaven and I've sinned against you I'm no longer worthy to be called your son make me as a servant because he's got a plan he's made a plan what is going to get me back in the good graces of my father I'll tell him I've been unworthy my father's a merciful man he's going to make sure that I'm back in the house and that was a plan very often what we do when we study the story of the prodigal son is we think how it says he came to himself and said that that was a point of repentance but there's actually other application to that because if you look at it a little closer and you understand a little bit of the Middle Eastern culture of that day you'd see what the boy was really doing what he was really doing was formulating a plan I get back into the good graces of my father and get out of this pigsty is what he's really doing is he repenting? No, he's not now when you read that story the Bible speaks concerning the father seeing the son yet a far off and the father went running to the son if you know something again about Middle Eastern culture you will know that a man an older man never runs anywhere he walks if anybody should have been running to the son to the father but you see the father running to the son why is that? because at that time that son who had dishonored the father that son had been put on trial by proxy by the town elders and they had declared him to be forbidden to enter into the city if they saw the son coming into the city they could chase him and maybe even harm him and in some cases even kill him and the father knew that that's why the father is waiting for the son because he knows that my son may one day appear with that horizon and I had better get to him before they do because they can ban him from the village for the rest of his life or harm him the father ran to the son when the son sees the father running that's what pierced the soul of the son he didn't even give his full speech father I've sinned against heaven and you I am no longer worthy to be your son that was his repentance when he saw the grace and love and protective care of the father and that's how the prodigal was welcomed back in and that's where salvation is demonstrated in the story of the prodigal son and so this particular proverb just simply kind of foretells that story that Jesus gave when it says basically that this inheritance gained hastily at the beginning isn't blessed in the end because that boy had he not who went to retrieve him would have had a wasted life because of how he did that verse 22 do not say I will recompense evil wait for the lord he will save you in other words leave room for God to justly deal with the wrongs that have been done to you remember Romans 12 19 beloved do not avenge yourselves rather give place to wrath it's written vengeance is mine I will repay says the lord verse 23 diverse waits are an abomination to the lord dishonest scales are not good we already saw that sentiment in verse 10 verse 24 a man's steps are of the lord how then can a man understand his own way when this is interesting well it's all interesting really I shouldn't say it like that it's interesting in this way I want you to notice something here I didn't notice until I started studying and looked into a commentator who was pointing this out and then I did some word searches and he was right what he was saying this is interesting and I'll point it out to you here when it says in verse 24 a man's steps the word man there the first time the word man a man's steps is a word that speaks literally of a mighty man it's a Hebrew word that is usually used to refer to the mighty man a man of power and strength a mighty man a man of valor but the second time the word man is used how then can a man understand his own way the second time the word man is used is a different word it's what is called a generic word it speaks really of a human being so the word man is actually different Hebrew words a mighty man's steps are of the Lord how then can a human being understand his own way now what's the thought the steps of a great and powerful man depend upon the Lord because God controls the results man is responsible for his own actions but God by grace directs the results of his plans so we need to trust in the Lord as he directs us by his spirit and his word because according to Psalm 3723 the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way and so if you want to be a mighty person in the Lord you rely on the Lord to direct your footsteps instead of going out trying to do things because you think it's just a great idea you ask God Lord what would you have me to do and then the Lord will direct your footsteps and that is a very basic thing that a lot of people don't ever learn verse 25 it's a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy and afterwards to reconsider his vows you know don't make rash agreements when you dedicate something to the Lord don't take it back in Numbers 30 verse 2 where's the note he shall not break his word he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth there are people who will say Lord if you do this for me I'll give you and we try to bargain with the Lord I did that when I was first saved I was brand new in the Lord and I had heard somewhere about that they were supposed to give God an offering and they used to have on this particular radio station if you were the third person to call or the fifth person to call you could win 100 bucks I didn't have a job and I was a new Christian and God said if you ask anything I'll do it so I'm listening to the radio and I said God I want to be the third caller and if I'm the third caller I promise you I think it's 10% I'll give you 10 bucks so I dialed and I didn't win I'm telling you I stay there all day and I finally said all I need is 10 bucks God I'll give you 90 dollars at the end of the day I was promising 90% rather than 10 so sometimes we like to try and make rash promises to the Lord he says that's not a wise thing to do verse 26 a wise king sifts out the wicked and brings the threshing wheel over them a wise ruler and brings the wickedness out of the kingdom because he judges properly verse 27 the spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord searching all the inner depths of his heart a person's conscience is what has been referred to and so the spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord it's a way of searching your heart a person's conscience can either accuse you or excuse you but remember this the conscience is not the Holy Spirit your conscience and sometimes it's accurate sometimes I have a reason to feel bad and then sometimes it's not accurate and I'm feeling bad for no reason at all and so your conscience is not the Holy Spirit your conscience is a moral barometer but sometimes your conscience will accuse you and sometimes your conscience will excuse you and so you need to be aware of that because what happens is your inner depths can be searched but it's not you're not always 100% right for feeling the way that you do because sometimes your heart is betraying you verse 28 mercy and truth preserve the king and by loving kindness he upholds his throne in other words when a man pleases the Lord stability occurs verse 29 the glory of young men is their strength the splendor of old men they had unless you hate that gray then you wash it away right I'll say this quickly because we're almost through when I first started going to Calvary Chapel I was 20 years old and the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa was Chuck Smith he was an old man and I looked at him as an old man he was 43 it's an old man when you're 20 so I had a tendency of listening more closely to other young men and I did not for a while in my early days value the council of the older because I figured that those old people need to just get out of the way and let the younger ones roll on because we know what should be done and it took a while for me to realize that that pastor up there had forgotten more than I had ever learned and I began to realize that his experience was something that would benefit my life if I had the wisdom to listen you see one of the one of the mistakes that I have made and that young do still make is trying to get wisdom from those who have yet to experience life with any depth we'll ask people their advice on raising children when their children are one or two years of age and let's face it man I mean when your kids 4 years old they're easy they're not hard you're a lot bigger than them go to bed go to bed when they're 16 18 go to bed go to bed I don't want to go to bed it changes so over time you gain experience and it's that experience that you're supposed to hand to other people but sometimes younger people think that they're going to get better advice from people of their own age and it doesn't work two kings Jeroboam and Rehoboam Rehoboam was a son of Solomon and he was given advice he had asked for advice because a man named Jeroboam who was really appreciated by the 10 northern tribes Israel being divided into 12 the 10 northern tribes they had rallied around the leadership of Jeroboam and because Solomon had been what they considered to be very strict they came and spoke to Solomon's son Rehoboam and they said listen your father was pretty rough on us and we're asking you if you want us to remain loyal to you as the king we're asking you to lighten up a bit and so if you do we'll follow you and so what happens is Rehoboam gets some of the older counselors and he speaks to the older men and he says this is what has been brought to me what do you think and they said listen if you serve them one day they'll serve you the rest of their lives humble yourself and he listens to them and then he says okay he goes to his friends that he had grown up with and he says this is what has been presented to me what should I do and they gave him advice so he went back and he spoke to Jeroboam and he says my father used whips I'm going to use scorpions my father was harsh I'm going to be much more harsh and then Jeroboam says what do we have to do with you and he said you know to your tent oh Israel and they rebelled and that's when the 12 tribes ceased being 12 tribes the 10 northern tribes followed the lead of Jeroboam and the two southern tribes remained with Rehoboam and how did that take place because Rehoboam went to advise from the younger men and did not heed the counsel of those with experience it's always wise to listen to those with godly experience they've been there they've done that and that's the wisdom the glory of young men's strength the splendor of an old man gray head in Proverbs 1631 the silver haired head is a crown of glory if it's found in the way of righteousness and then finally verse 30 blows that hurt cleans away evil as do stripes of the heart in general physical punishment can be very effectiveness effective in Proverbs 2215 foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child the rod of correction will drive it far from him so sometimes corporal punishment when properly administered chasens and produces motivation for a changed life it's not always the answer because not all people respond well to corporal punishment as I've said so many times on a close you know my kids were different each one responded differently one you could spank and it didn't matter the other one you'd speak to and it did so the wise thing to do is make sure and find the way that's most effective